The present invention relates to an apparatus and a process for the automatic cutting of materials, particularly meat or fish, to produce portions of a predetermined constant weight.
In the production of packaged frozen meat or fish products, it is important that the weight of the portions is controlled as accurately as possible, otherwise the weights will vary at the time of filling the packages resulting in certain disadvantages. For example, underweight portions of incorrect weight have to be rejected leading to significant losses of fish or meat material while overweight portions have to be adjusted to the correct weight, which increases the costs.
The most reliable way of ensuring a constant weight is by cutting and weighing the portions manually. However, this is labour intensive and very time-consuming. Mechanical means for automatic and semi-automatic cutting and weighing of portions have been described, but these generally involve the use of very complex machinery. For example, the use of photoelectric sensors has been proposed to detect the linear measurements of fish, but since not only the length, but also the breadth and thickness vary appreciably, this method would not lead to the cutting of portions with an accurate constant weight.